Africa Travel Company (ATC)- Namibia

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Our next stop was the border of Botswana and Namibia. Once we travelled across the border we then made our way to Rundu in Namibia where we stayed at Sarasunga camp site. The campsite sits right on the border of Angola and Namibia, it was really pretty taking in the sunset here. A fence separated us from the wild hippos and crocs in the river. Many of us were excited for a pool, except when we saw that it was the size of a bath tub and there were tonnes of kids drowning in it, we re-thought our decision and gave it a miss.

After a night here we made our way to Namutoni camp site in Etosha National Park. the same afternoon we did a small game drive through the park where we saw giraffes, zebra and some antelope. It was New Years Eve on this day. At 3pm whilst on our game drive all the aussies on the truck (Cherie, Leanne, Nikki and myself) opened up a savannah cider each, from the trucks eski supply and toasted to the official Australian New Year. Although it didn't feel like new years eve it was still great knowing we celebrated at the exact moment everyone else did back home.

That night we had a drink or two at the bar before retiring to bed by 10pm. I know, aren't we the biggest bunch of party poopers. But can you imagine being hung over the following day on safari on a rather bumpy truck through Etosha National Park? Brutal! So instead, at midnight when I heard the rest of the campsite scream "Happy New Year!" I said it quietly to Nikki (who was fast asleep- go figure).

On new years day we continued our game drive hoping to see lots of animals and especially a rhino and leopard as many of us were yet to see one. To this day, I still haven't seen one. It was a shame but it just comes down to luck regarding whether you will see them or not. We did however see a family of lions and one very nervous wildebeast that was cornered. Here we stayed for almost an hour hoping that the lions would attack and we would see the makings of a David Attenborough documentary. But the lions weren't interested and slowly watched the wildebeast make its backward escape carefully.

The park itself covers more than 20,000 sq km and is known as one of the worlds greatest wildlife viewing venues. It's name stands for 'Great white place of dry water' due to the greenish-white Etosha pan of flat saline desert covering over 5000 sq km. The Etosha pan was very impressive. The sheer enormity of the white pan spreads for kilometres, so far that you can't see the other side. You feel as though you are staring into white space. It's beautiful and peaceful.

After our game safari we continued on to a campsite called Eldorado. I loved this campsite, mainly due to the Irish terrier that lived there called Stumpy. The showering facilities were great too and what topped it off was my first taste of Kudu (a type of antelope) for dinner which was delicious. Here at the campsite the owners house a leopard and cheetahs for conservation purposes. A few of us paid about $5 US to go and visit the animals. Considering we hadn't seen a leopard yet, this was our last chance. The owners found the leopard sleeping in the large enclosure. We were too far away to see, so they proceeded to peg rocks at it to startle it. Not exactly the most humane act we thought. Five dollars, 10 rocks and a bruised leopard later and we still hadn't seen a leopard! Never mind. We then proceeded to the Cheetah enclosure where we were able to feed the wild cheetahs. They were so fierce. Even with a fence separating us I was still nervous. Although the whining sounds they make for food are so deceiving, they almost sound like a dog whining.

After that night at Eldorado we had another drive to Cheetah camp. This was the first camp in Namibia where we started to get quite dry and red soil. No prizes for guessing which animals live here. Here the owners of the camp house tame cheetahs as well as wild cheetahs for conservation purposes. Many of the cheetahs were either orphaned or injured and have been taken into rescue to help increase the number of cheetahs in the wild. I'm not entirely sure about keeping wild animals in a home but I'm all for conservation purposes. Although I couldn't help feel we were camping there to feed the tourist industry. None the less, the place was cool. We were able to go and visit the tame cheetahs and pat them, play with them and just hang out. There was a younger one that was absolutely adorable and kept gnawing at everyones ankles. There were strict rules that one must follow when contacting the cheetahs that all of us were glad to abide by.

We then made our way to an enormous enclosure that housed around 15 wild cheetahs. We were taken through the enclosure in a hilux; driver in the cabin and all of us in the tray with a barrel of wart hog meat. We were all making jokes of getting attacked but having that meat on the back with us made us all a little on edge. I think deep down we were all secretly ready to leg it to the fence line. We all patiently and cautiously watched on in anticipation as the vehicle would slow down as we approached some cheetahs. The cheetahs would begin circling the truck. You could tell they had been injured or orphaned due to the numerous scars over their faces. Slowly the owner would make his way out of the front seat with only a long stick to protect him if one of the cheetahs attacked. I have no idea how he did it each time. He really had to be on the lookout in all directions as the cheetahs would circle and corner him. Except I think the cheetahs were smart enough to know the pain the stick inflicted if they tried anything. Once he had made it to the back of the truck where we were, he would slowly grab a piece of meat and throw it far into the grass where the cheetahs would all compete for that once piece. He would do this until all cheetahs had a piece of meat. It was really interesting to watch. Just to see how they react. They know they are going to get fed yet they are so fierce and hiss and pounce at the owner.

That night we decided to have a little celebration night, mainly to make up for our new years eve that we didn't have. The conditions were we could only wear garbage bags and underwear. It was a fun night sitting around in garbage bags. Not your typical night.

The next day we packed up from cheetah camp and headed for Spitzkoppe in Namibia. Spitzkoppe is situated in northwestern Namibia. It is one of Namibia's most recognisable landmarks as it rises over the dusty pro-namib plains of southern Damaraland. This campsite was like nothing I have ever seen before. We were in desert territory now. There were huge rock faces and formations that reminded me of Ayres Rock back home. We were offered a guided tour around the rocks and to see some rock paintings however I decided to go with Cherie and Anne on our own walk around the place. The landscape was so dry, beautiful and so peaceful.

That night is definitely a night I will never forget. Hendrick our guide told us of a tradition where many overland trucks take their mats and sleeping bags up on top of a incredibly large rock and camp there for the night. That said, a few of us decided to keep on with the tradition and venture up to the top of the rock. It wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep but the view of the stars and just being out in the open was beautiful. We made a fire, drank some amarula (equivalent of baileys) and then dosed off underneath the stars. I wish my camera could have captured them. It was perfect. The next morning was even more astonishing. Waking up to the sunrise and an incredible view of the dry orange desert was spectacular. To those that didn't participate that night, you definitely missed out.

On the 4th of January we made our way from Spitzkoppe to Swakopmund in central Namibia. I really liked Swakopmund as it was just so different to anywhere we had been before. It is a town with a very german vibe, sand dunes and desert to one side and a roaring coastal beach to the other side. Here a mix of german-namibian residents reside with overseas german tourists. It is a hub for many adventure sports such as quad-biking, sand-boarding, sky diving, go-karting and shark fishing. Here we stayed for 3 nights at a hostel called Villa Wiese (pronounced Villa Visa). Most of our time here was spent relaxing, visiting markets, shops and just having down time as we were constantly on the go on the truck.

On our first night here Hendrick had organised for us to go out to dinner to a restaurant called Napolitana. Many of us were able to try a huge selection of game meat such as Oryx, Springbok and Kudu. The meals were ginormous and absolutely delicious. If you are ever in Swakopmund, I highly recommend eating here. It was a great night had by all as we celebrated Cherie and Leannes last night wth us. One particular highlight was a local showing me how to dance, african style- wicked!

During my time in Swakopmund I decided to go sandboarding. Snowboards were used to get you down the massive dunes. Considering I've never snowboarded before, I found it difficult at first to control my balance. I still had a lot of fun and think I'd really like to give snowboarding a go when I next get the chance. For those of us who decided to do standing sandboarding we also got the option to give lying sandboarding a go, which was on wooden boards that you lie on your stomach with. This was seriously fun. At one run the team monitored our speed, I clocked 69km/h.

That same afternoon our group all decided to give go-karting a go. I had never done this before, but it was a lot of fun even though I was probably lapped about 3 times by the boys. But it's fair to say when I look back on my lap times I had definitely improved significantly haha.

Swakopmund was a lot of fun and it was there that I really discovered my love for Biltong (dried meat). I probably ate enough to increase my cholesterol levels to a worrying level.



Time to move on further south: next stop Sesriem, Namibia 😊

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